Nontraditional Families Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Nontraditional Families - Essay Example To begin with, non-traditional families are not entirely accepted in the first place; recognizing their adoption rights is an even bigger step. Therefore, this makes the following question a critical and an important one: Should Non-traditional families (including same sex, gay/lesbian couples) be allowed to adopt children Deciding whether or not non-traditional families should be allowed to adopt children is not a simple process. For example, consider a bisexual/homosexual parent, who is the biological father of a child. This parent may divorce his opposite sex spouse and take up living with another male partner. This does not change the fact that father is the biological parent, and that he has his rights to remain in touch with and look after his child. In cases where the divorce opposite sex spouse is incapable of looking after the child, there is little choice but for the child to live with his or her bisexual/homosexual male parent. Also, given that there are a number of people who live together as unmarried couples [heterosexual or homosexual] it is difficult to determine who should and who should not have the right to adopt (Waite, 1995, 483-507). Some states like Florida, for instance, pushed for married couples alone to have the right to adopt children, and this automatically meant that cohabiting couples and homosexual couples would not be able to adopt children. However, it appears that there is more emphasis now on banning homosexual couples as well as individuals from adopting children. Florida law had forbidden adoption by any "homosexual" person. [1977 Fla. Laws, ch. 77-140, 1, Fla. Stat. 63.042(3) (2002)]2. Loften challenged this law, and argued that homosexuals couples were just like unmarried couples [Lofton v. Secretary of the Dept. of Children & Family Services No. 01-16723 (11th Cir. 01/28/2004)]3. Loften was later omitted from the challenge, primarily on the grounds that Loften was not able to establish particular threats to already existing "family integrity" or "private sexual intimacy." States that Particularly Ban Homosexual Couples from Adopting Children: States that particularly bar homosexual individuals or couples from adopting children include Florida, as one can see from the above case, as well as Oklahoma, Mississippi, Nebraska, Utah and Virginia. These states have enacted laws that particularly prevent homosexual individuals or couples from adopting children4. Case Reference in Adoption Refusal to Homosexual Parents: Referring to cases similar to Lofton v. Secretary of the Dept. of Children & Family Services, states do not need to determine that homosexual individuals or couples have greater disadvantages on the upbringing of children, as opposed to heterosexual individuals or couples adopting children. It is thought that it is perhaps better to question the rationality of the decision of whether or not to rule in favor of homosexual individuals and couples wanting to adopt children5. Chances of Developing Married Households: Up till today, it has been widely stressed that it is rational to assert that heterosexual singles have a strikingly higher chance of developing a married household. This is why they are more than likely to provide adopted children with a firm and dual-gender parenting home (Horner, 2002, 472-474). However, it could be argued here that society

Mental Disorder and crime Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 3500 words

Mental Disorder and crime - Essay Example If they are too broad they may result in unnecessary intervention’ (Wilson, 1995 as quoted in Healthcare Education Services, 2006). This quote from Wilson suggests the complications that mental health carers and the courts have when they attempt to apply a definition to mental illness. There is a distinction made between mental health and mental disorder. According to Healthcare Education Services (2006) mental health and mental illness have often been used interchangeably as 'mental health refers to thoughts, feelings, and actions of the individual, all aspects of life, including social, physical, spiritual and emotional, affect it' (p. 6). The term mental disorder implies that he person has a mental illness and also has some sort of disability and has often been used as a legal definition for a variety of mental illnesses. The Department of Health (2004) defines mental disorder as ‘an impairment of, or a disturbance in, the functioning of the mind or brain resulting fr om any disability or disorder of the mind or brain’ (p.3). This definition was refined from the original bill that was drafted in 1983 and said that mental disorder was, ‘†¦mental disorder means mental illness, arrested or incomplete development of mind, psychopathic disorder and any other disorder or disability of the mind’ (as quoted in Healthcare Education Services, 2006, p. 7). ... This definition will cover a variety of mental disorders and it can be relevant to the individual's fitness to plead guilty or not guilty, their sentencing or disposal, or the decision for the prosecutor to divert the sentence or prosecute the individual (The Crown Prosecution Service, 2010). This is the definition will be the one used for this paper because it is the one that comes from the courts. Definition of Crime The definition of crime is complex because its definition will relate to the individual's offense. Sammon (n.d.) states that the word crime is difficult to define because it covers a variety of acts that have nothing in common necessarily except that they are punishable by law if they are carried out by an individual. The easiest definition comes from the Oxford Dictionary (2011) which describes crime as a noun and defines it as 'an action or omission which constitutes offence and is punishable by law'. A crime can be anything from shoplifting to murder. Each offence h as its own definition in the court system. This is a simple definition and will be used in this paper to refer to generic crimes. Crime and General Mental Disorders The challenge for both of these definitions is the fact that everything about them is dependent on the circumstances in each situation. Many people believe that a defence that states that an individual who has a mental disorder should be excused for committing a crime because at the time of the crime, they had a mental breakdown due to a mental disorder. However, the empirical evidence does not support this idea. Sirotich (2008) reviewed several studies about crime and violence to see whether there is a correlation with mental illness. He found that most of the literature suggests that the best